And, it's a birthday

Shhh, don't tell Zach, but I don't like his birthday.  It messes with my Christmas plans.  It's a good thing he is lovely in all ways, or I may just boycot.  But, this boy deserves a birthday, so  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZACH!!!
And, here are 11 things I love about you . . .
1.  You are one of the most tender hearted people I know and no one would ever know unless they are lucky enough to call you a friend.
2.  You like to laugh and scoot yourself on your back across the floor.
3.  You are a hard worker.  I never doubt when I give you a job that you will finish it to your best ability.
4.  You are so good to your brothers and sisters and have turned into one fantastic babysitter, even if I do forget to pay you.
5.  Your hair.  Enough said.
6.  Your sense of humor.  The other day as I picked you up from school, you proclaimed your chick magnet status with the explanation for it being #5.  (see above.)
7.  You finished the Book of Mormon and have let us know that this entitles you to "big" status in our house.
8.  You are loyal and brave and have a unique ability to show love.
9.  You run hard, play hard, jump hard, swim hard, read hard, eat hard, flip hard, and pretty everything you do is done to the most.
10.  You are willing to take the kids on rides when I need to fix dinner.  You are a lifesaver.
11.  You are a child of God and you pretty much let everyone know how happy that makes you.
Love you, Zach!!!

9.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is a little preview, or postview of a post to come after our whirlwind trip to NC for Thanksgiving.  Hope you all have a great weekend and eat lots of pie.

Santa is coming to town

love, love, love.
 jill, jill, jill.
Santa, Santa, Santa.

(fyi . . . it isn't the real Santa, but don't tell Jill.  Brother Roha needed some promo photos for the upcoming Christmas season and picked Jill and her friend to be the perfect models.  It really was magical for little Jillie.)

pumpkin carving, yuck.

I don't like carving pumpkins.  But, we did.  Why? I don't know.  This is phase 1.  Hoping to finish today.

and finally zach

Zach finally let me get a picture of him.  Not very good ones, but you get the idea.  He went from being a Ranger from his favorite books to choosing the castoff costume of Maggie's.  He never ceases to amaze.

Walk through the woods to the Wood's

It was an absolutely beautiful fall day.  The leaves were falling, the colors were rusty, and the temperatures were cool.  The sun was shining through the leaves, casting an autumn glow.  We took advantage of the last bit of good weather and went to see the Wood's. 

Primary halloween party

Our four primary kids had a great time at the primary carnival.  The leaders and teachers had some of the most creative games for the kids to enjoy and ended with eating cardboard style pizza.  It was a hit. 

 Then, we came home and took pictures because I had the camera on the ready.  Now, I just need to get a picture of Zach.